Boy is in fast company

Young drag racer likes being in car.

Young drag racer likes being in car.

June 30, 2007|DANIELLE PORTTEUS The Monroe Evening News

MONROE, Mich. (AP) -- Courtney Cadle is no stranger to the dragway. After watching her older brother, Chris, compete for six years in drag races, Courtney, a 9-year-old Manor Elementary third-grader, decided she wanted to race. During show-and-tell at her school, Courtney's mom, Debbie, brought her drag car and her brother's old drag car for the students in Amy Emerson's third-grade and Cathy Tyner's first-grade classes to see. She drove the car a few feet in the parking lot after telling her classmates about her car, which is painted purple, orange and green. Her favorite part of racing is just being in the car. "When I sit in the car, I feel like I'm going 100 miles per hour," Courtney said. "I call my car the dominator because it can take on anything." For the past year and a half, Courtney has competed at Milan Dragway in the Junior Dragster Pee Wee Division for children 8 to 9 years old. Junior Dragsters can compete beginning at age 8 until they are 17. She races on an eighth of a mile stretch and her car can reach speeds of 50 mph. Because of rule restrictions, her vehicle cannot go any faster until she is older. Beginning next summer, she will compete in the intermediate level for 10- to 12-year olds. Courtney said sometimes she gets nervous before big races, but she is not worried about getting hurt. "When I'm strapped in the car, I'm as safe as possible," she said. After going winless last year, Courtney won back-to-back races in May, receiving a cash prize and a trophy for both. Courtney has competed across the United States, including national competition last summer in Bristol, Tenn. Her mother said she has no reservations about her children drag racing. "They are safer in these cars than in everyday cars," she said. "Everything in the race is very controlled." Debbie said racing has given her son a strong respect for cars and hopes her daughters will do the same. For the Cadle children, there is one rule they must follow in order to compete: "My husband (Tim) and I tell them they have to get B's or better," Debbie said. "That's the rule to race."